The document provides an overview of the seven churches of Revelation mentioned in the Bible: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. It describes the historical and religious significance of each city, including details about their establishment of early Christian churches and prominent figures like Polycarp of Smyrna. Archaeological ruins from important sites like temples, theaters, and synagogues are mentioned for some of the cities.

1. BE NOT CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD Revelation 1:9-18 Presented by: Harry L. Morgan, Ph.D.

4. EPHESUS Once the most important commercial city in Western Asia

7. View from Ancient Theatre To the Sea

9. The library of Celsus, one of the most famous monument in Ephesus.

10. Street of the Curetes, looking to the library of Celsus.

11. Arcadian Road

12. Ruins of Temple of Artemis

13. SMYRNA Polycarp, an elder at the church in Smyrna, was burned alive at the stake in 155 A.D. for his refusal to deny Christ and swear allegiance to Caesar. "a crown of life“ (Rev. 2:10)

15. The Agora ~ Porticoes lined the north and west sides of the agora, and an altar to Zeus sat in the center.

16. There was a considerable number of Jews in the city from pre-NT times through the Ottoman period. Even today various synagogues are located throughout the modern city.

17. PERGAMUM

21. THYATIRA Thyatira the city is located in Asia Minor, bordering upon Mysia on the north and Lydia on the south. It was a trading town that was famous for its dyeing. Among the ruins inscriptions have been found relating to the guild of dyers in that city in ancient times. Through the preaching of the apostle Paul at Philippi a woman named Lydia and her household became converted. She was a seller of purple, or rather of cloth dyed with this colour, who was from Thyatira ( Acts 16:14). Lydia may have been used by God to first carry the Gospel to her native town.

28. Sardis The Acropolis Known biblically as the home of the church that received the fifth of letters to the seven churches in Revelation, Sardis was the capital of the Lydian empire and one of the greatest cities of the ancient world. Located on the banks of the Pactolus River, Sardis was 60 miles inland from Ephesus and Smyrna. The city was home to the famous bishop Melito in the 2nd century. Temple of Artemis Artemis was the main goddess of the city and the temple dedicated to her in Sardis was one of the seven largest Greek temples (more than double the size of the Parthenon). Artemis, known as Diana by the Romans, was the daughter of Zeus and twin of Apollo. She was the goddess of the hunt, the moon and fertility.

29. It was the ancient capital of Lydia which was ruled by the King Croesus who had the fame to use coin exchange for goods. However because of the earthquakes most of ruins are now under the ground and the ones on earth are dating back to the Roman Times only. The important remains of Sardis are the Temple of Artemis and the restored gymnasium apart from the Synagogue from the 3rd century with its mosaics and carved colored-stone panels. The ruins are now as if they were spread on either sides of the Ankara-Izmir highway. The complex of bath and gymnasium, synagogue and the shops are located in the north of the highway. Today there are only four main areas that may be visited which are the Sardian acropolis, the valley of the Paktalos River (now called Sart Cay), the ancient city located around and along the highway and the tombs at Bintepe.

30. Remains of the Sardis Synagogue at the archaeological site of Sardis, near present-day Sart in the Manisa province of Turkey .

31. There are two main clusters of ruins in Sardis. The first, primarily made up of the gymnasium and synagogue lies just north of the road on the eastern edge of the village and includes the Marble Way, a Byzantine shopping street complete with Latrines whose holes and drainage channels are still visible.

32. Remains of a gymnasium

33. PHILADELPHIA

36. LAODICEA Laodicea was originally called Diospolis and then Rhoas. It got its name from Laodice, the wife of Antiochus II., king of Syria, who rebuilt it. It was one of the most important and flourishing cities of Asia Minor. At a very early period it became one of the chief seats of Christianity (see Col. 2:1, 4:15; Rev. 1:11, etc.). Laodicea was located near the river Lycus and about twenty miles from Colosse. It had a wall of vast compass, three marble theatres, and, like Rome, was built on seven hills. The apostle Paul was very instrumental in planting the gospel in this city, from which he wrote a letter, as he mentions in the last chapter of Colossians.

40. Almost completely disappeared